Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.

Thought for the Evening5-03

NO LOVE IN SIN

"There is no honor among thieves." That old saying was used by parents of a previous generation to warn their children not to get in with the wrong crowd, and it is still true. The truth about life which that old proverb tries to communicate is this: There is no love for others in sin. Sin springs from self-will, and its goal is always, at heart, self-aggrandizement. Sinners who want your support and participation in their self-serving schemes will disguise their true motive with promises of benefits for you, but only fools fall for that trap.

Solomon pleaded with his young son not to be tempted by wicked friends who would promise him the moon if only he will join them in their evil schemes. The wise father said, "My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, 'Come with us; let us lay wait for blood; let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause. Let us swallow them up alive as the grave, and whole, as those who go down into the pit. We shall find all precious substance! We will fill our houses with spoil! Cast in your lot among us; let us all have one purse!' My son, walk not in the way with them; refrain your foot from their path. . . . They lay in wait for their own blood; they secretly lurk for their own lives. So are the ways of every one who is greedy of gain. . . ." (Prov. 1:10-19). God always turns the tables on the wicked, so that their mischief eventually brings about their own ruin.

Isaiah described it this way: "Wickedness burns like a fire. It will devour the briers and thorns and will kindle a fire in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke. Through the wrath of the LORD is the land darkened. And the people shall be as the fuel for the fire. No man will spare his brother." The people who rebelled against God turned out to be the fuel for the fires of self-will and rebellion that they themselves had kindled. This is always the way it is, sooner or later, with sin. It destroys those who resort to it to gain happiness.

Young person, once sin gets rolling, you may not be able to stop it from ruining your life, from crushing all your hopes for the future, or destroying your health. Consider the wisdom of the apostle James, who said, "How great a conflagration a little flame can start!" It is best, as Solomon warned his son in another place, to avoid trouble altogether than to try to contain the results of the trouble that you start.

No matter how promising at first the path of sin is made to appear by sinners who want you to partake of their ungodly ways, it will ALWAYS end up putting sinners in a position of "dog eat dog", and "every man for himself". There is no love of others in sin, and when sin develops into the condition of every man fending for himself, sinful friends can become mortal enemies. It may take a little while for that unshakable truth to become obvious, but it will always turn out to be just that way.

Daily Thoughts

In Isaiah 55, we are told that God's thoughts are not our thoughts and that God's thoughts are as far from men as the heavens are from the earth. These collections of thoughts were given to Pastor John from the holy Spirit of God. For God to condescend to man, and to give His thoughts to him is a rare and precious thing. That is why these thoughts are so valuable.

These thoughts can cheer the hearts of the discouraged; bring unity to divided situations and, speak words of life and hope at the most needed times. Many of the experiences, teachings, and thoughts in this book came from Pastor John's father, George C. "Preacher" Clark. "Preacher Clark" was also a man anointed by God with a message for God's children. So these collections include nearly a century of experience in the things of God and doctrinal truths sent by the holy Ghost to true pastors.